Undergoing cancer treatment and living with or beyond cancer is no mean feat. It can take single-minded determination to deal with treatment and its side effects, as well as life-long uncertainty and a roller coaster of unexpected mixed emotions.

Like no doubt others before and after her will make very personal and difficult choices, I get the impression Lynda Bellingham managed to make peace with cancer and herself. Perhaps we need peace to make truly positive life changing and life enhancing choices, especially when they are about our death.

When someone is diagnosed with cancer, relatives and friends are often the forgotten ones. Yet, they are also affected by the disease, may require help to cope, but may themselves think that they are not as deserving and important as the person with cancer

Ten years ago aged 37, Kylie Minogue was treated for breast cancer. In a recent TV interview on Australia's Sunday night's 60 Minutes she was asked about that time in her life. She became visibly emotional and eventually described experiencing a "mixture of emotions and memories, when you are fighting something unknown".

I definitely don't walk around everyday thinking about how beautiful post-cancer life is, I think about that bastard who pushed in front of me at Upper Crust. You are allowed to grumble, it's cathartic, just don't stomp around acting like the world owes you one.

While I was undergoing treatment a good friend was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died within a matter of months, before I finished my treatment. I had not heard much about pancreatic cancer before, and it put my own situation in perspective: I could receive and complete treatment! I was given a life chance beyond cancer.

You might have heard of 'Mindfulness'. A lot is talked and written about its usefulness. But like with so many things, it can feel like a daunting task and yet another thing to invest a lot of energy in, before it can be of any use. Well, it is not necessarily so. Let me explain a bit more.

You want to know this year's fashion must have...well, here it is - giant paper pants! That is, if you're a girl who's about to have a operation to remove their favourite left breast to combat cancer. If that's you, get this look now. Quite frankly if you're wearing anything else, they just won't let you in. I'm serious, they are really weird about it - who knew?!

As my friend James pointed out, I'll probably never drown. I will have my own built-in buoyancy aid, like a life raft just ready to go should I ever need it. My own mini dinghy boob. Brilliant. Bond would be proud.

With less than a month now til my last chemotherapy session I am getting frustratingly excited. So close but yet far enough. This past month I have had stronger days and each month I seem to keep getting a bit more able to deal with it. When I first started my chemo back in October 2011, I was on an intensive treatment plan which knocked me down for two months, I could hardly leave the house, ended up hospitalised and generally felt like I was dying.